Words: Paraphrase of Psalm 68; author unknown.
Music: Truro, from Psalmodia Evangelica, by Thomas Williams, 1789.
Let God arise, and by His might
Let all His foes be put to flight;
But O ye righteous, gladly sing,
Exult before your God and King.
Jehovah’s praises sound abroad
Rejoice before the living God;
Prepare the way that He may come
And make the desert places bloom.
A Father of the fatherless,
A judge of widows in distress
Is God, the God of boundless grace,
Who dwells within His holy place.
God frees the captive and He sends
The blessedness of home and friends,
And only those in darkness stay
Who will not trust Him and obey.
O Zion, ’tis thy God’s command
That thou in strength securely stand;
O God, confirm and strengthen still,
Thy purposes in us fulfill.
O Thou, whose glorious temple stands
In Zion, famed through heathen lands,
Kings shall Thy power and glory see,
And bring their presents unto Thee.
Thou wilt rebuke the fierce and strong
Who hate the right and choose the wrong,
And scatter those who peace abhor,
The nations that delight in war.
The heathen princes yet shall flee
From idols and return to Thee;
Earth’s sinful and benighted lands,
To God shall soon stretch out their hands.